WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP – Orchard Valley Middle School Drama/English teacher Amy Leso has been named a 2015 Exemplary Secondary Educator by the New Jersey Department of Education. Leso, the school's 2014-15 Teacher of the Year, was informed of her honor during a surprise announcement on Nov. 3. Exemplary educators across the state are being lauded for their exceptional instructional practices...
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP - Orchard Valley Middle School Drama/English teacher Amy Leso has been named a 2015 Exemplary Secondary Educator by the New Jersey Department of Education. Leso, the school's 2014-15 Teacher of the Year, was informed of her honor during a surprise announcement on Nov. 3.
Exemplary educators across the state are being lauded for their exceptional instructional practices and student learning results in the classrooms, as well as their educational accomplishments beyond the classroom. They also are being recognized for their engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues and the community.
"It would be difficult to calculate Amy Leso's impact not only on Orchard Valley Middle School, but on her own community," said OVMS Principal Steve Gregor, who nominated Leso for the distinction. "The litany of dramatic production, service projects, and community events she has directed through the years is impressive. I would like to focus on her impact on one child, however. Through her tutelage in drama class and Drama Club, one young man has become so inspired that he has auditioned for and has been chosen to star in the pilot for a new television program. Untold others, no doubt, have been equally influenced."
Leso, an educator for the past 19 years and a Washington Township teacher for the last 14 years, holds a degree from Glassboro State College in education with in a minor in Child Drama. She also holds certificates in elementary education and speech, arts and dramatics.
